Deregulated Cable TV in Texas & Wisconsin
Filed Under Texas Cable TV, Wisconsin Cable TV | Leave a Comment
Texas was the first state to adopt a deregulated Cable TV plan similar to the one proposed for Wisconsin.
A recent survey of monthly cable TV rate changes in 25-cities in Texas showed that, with the exception of introductory temporary discount rates designed to attract new customers, “rates in Texas did not decrease but, in fact, increased,” said Margaret Somereve, president of the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.
Furthermore: “Eventually, the introductory rates expire and subscribers pay the published rate,” which has steadily gone up in many cities, said Somereve.
Cable TV rate increases that resulted in Texas will also occur here, said Barry Orton, a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor working for local governments that have fought the bill. Those governments would lose the right to issue cable TV franchises, which allow communities to oversee local cable service and to gain revenue from the providers.
Great Quote!
“The people that really believe that cable rates will go down probably also think that gasoline will someday sell for $2 a gallon again,” Orton said. “In the last 30 years, cable rates have only gone down once, in 1993-’94.”
Survey results:
• Austin, whose population is slightly bigger than Milwaukee’s: Cost of basic service provided by Time Warner did not change, but basic service from a second company, Grande Communications, went up 17.3%. Cost of standard service went up 9.9% for Time Warner, 14.9% for Grande.
• Irving, with a population comparable to Madison’s: Cost of basic service rose 29.6% for Time Warner, but no change in basic service provided by Verizon. There was no change in the cost of standard service for either company.
• Abilene, slightly larger than Green Bay: Cost of basic service provided by Cox rose 7.7% and standard service went up 3.9%.
• Midland, with a population comparable to Kenosha: There was no change in cost of basic or standard services provided by Cox. Standard service provided by Grande rose 7.3%.
• Denton, with a population similar to Racine: The cost of basic service provided by Charter increased 49%, but there was no change in the cost of that service provided by Grande and Verizon. The cost of standard service provided by Charter rose 4.2%, with no change in that service provided by Grande and Verizon.
Cable TV Franchise & Complaint Management
In Texas, those franchises are now overseen by the Texas Public Utility Commission, which issues them an average of 17 days after applications are filed.
The Texas commission has no staff to respond to consumer complaints, so it tells customers angry about local services to call the cable companies directly.
Under the Wisconsin proposal, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection would respond to cable TV and digital satellite complaints from customers, but the agency could not revoke a franchise.
